New Series at SUNY Geneseo to Explore Contemporary Issues in the Arts

GENESEO, N.Y. -- Theater professor, playwright and cultural policy expert Lynne Conner from Colby College will deliver the inaugural lecture for a new series at the State University of New York at Geneseo that will explore contemporary issues in the arts. She will address "We the Audience" at 7 p.m. April 22 in Newton Hall Room 214. The lecture is free and open to the public.

"We are delighted to welcome Dr. Conner as our keynote speaker to launch this important new series at Geneseo," said Jonathan Gonder, dean of the School of the Arts. "She is a leading authority on how audiences experience the arts and we eagerly look forward to her visit and observations."

Conner is chair of the theater and dance department at Colby and is a theater and dance historian. Among other topics, she will examine the emerging role of social media in linking audiences with the arts and the impact such technology has on the arts community. Her current research and cultural policy initiatives are focused on the history of audience behavior and psychology to design more effective audience enrichment programming for today's cultural consumers.

Conner is a prolific speaker on the arts and has authored three books, numerous articles, scholarly papers, essays and other publications. She is currently working on a new book that will explore ways in which societies past and present most effectively invite audiences into the interpretive process.

She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region I Award for Ensemble Excellence for her production of "Metamorphoses" at Colby College.

Connor earned a doctorate in theater history and performance studies at the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in theater arts at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Geneseo's "Contemporary Issues in the Arts" series is funded by the college's Office of Student and Campus Life. More information on the series is available at 585-245-5824.